WINTER HAVEN -- With Halloween just a few weeks away, police in one Florida town are warning parents about chocolate bars that could be laced with psychoactive mushrooms. Detectives executed a search warrant recently and found chocolate bars that were presented as being laced with "shrooms" or magic mushrooms. These contain a compound called psilocybin. Some use them for medicinal purposes, but they can raise blood pressure and heart rate, and cause nausea, vomiting and hallucinations.
Police sent the candy to a lab for testing. They don't know of any children eating the possibly tainted chocolate.
Police chief David Brannan says the agency is also watching for pills and gummies laced with fentanyl, as dealers deal with a glut of the highly dangerous drug by finding new ways to market it to unaware users.
"Fentanyl is becoming so widespread and dealers are finding new ways to entice unsuspecting users" ... "It's only a matter of time that it could crop up in our area, so we are dedicated to target these dealers."
Police are urging parents to talk to their children about eating anything of unknown origin.
Photo: Winter Haven Police Department
Photo: Winter Haven Police Dept.